Washington County Commissioner Jeff Cline’s Campaign Reports $2,075 From Charities Barred From Funding Candidates

Two 501(c)(3) nonprofits appear in the Washington County commissioner’s donor records. His campaign committees have also paid two state penalties.

Washington County Commissioner Jeff Cline’s campaign reports list at least $2,075 in contributions from two 501(c)(3) nonprofits between 2022 and 2025. That caught our attention because federal tax law prohibits these charities from contributing to political campaigns. The IRS says violations can result in excise taxes or loss of tax-exempt status.

The Washington County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association of Maryland, Inc. is listed as a 501(c)(3) charity. Cline’s campaign reported receiving $100 from the association on August 24, 2022. His annual reports also list $125 contributions on September 1, 2023, September 13, 2024, and September 16, 2025, bringing the association’s reported contributions to $475 across those four years.

Cline was not the association’s only reported recipient. A separate Maryland campaign finance record lists $150 to Terry Baker’s campaign on August 26, 2026. Both contribution detail screens reviewed for those donations display “No data available” under returned contributions.

Then there is America’s Hauling for Hope, also listed as a 501(c)(3) charity. Cline’s campaign reported four contributions totaling $1,600: $100 on August 24, 2022, followed by $500 on November 15, 2023, September 13, 2024, and September 16, 2025.

The campaign’s own 2025 annual report even identifies the contributor as “AMERICA’S HAULING FOR HOPE-NONPROFIT.” Whoever prepared that report apparently had no trouble identifying the organization as a nonprofit while recording its $500 campaign contribution.

Cline’s campaign committees have already paid two unrelated campaign finance penalties. According to the State Board of Elections’ January 16, 2020 minutes, Citizens for Jeff Cline paid $300 on January 7, 2020, for “failing to record all contributions and expenditures.” The March 10, 2022 minutes record $250 paid by Friends of Jeff Cline on February 16, 2022, for “disbursement by an unauthorized individual.”

These donations add to a long list of ethics concerns involving Cline, including his involvement in public funding efforts benefiting private developers. Cline previously served on the Western Maryland Economic Future Investment Board and currently serves as vice-chair of the Tri-County Council for Western Maryland, which helps administer the Senator George C. Edwards Fund. Those connections matter in three separate funding matters.

In September 2026, Cline voted for Washington County to seek $1.25 million through the Senator George C. Edwards Fund on behalf of Cascade Town Centre’s developer. The county would receive and administer the grant, then pass the money to the developer for improvements to its privately controlled property.

There was also the separate $809,820 sewer infrastructure proposal benefiting the same redevelopment, consisting of $404,910 in requested ARC funding and a $404,910 county match. Emails obtained through our MPIA request show how officials linked that infrastructure funding to JG Group’s pursuit of an Edwards Fund grant, with Cline using his position and connections to advocate on the developer’s behalf.

In a separate incident, Hager 5 LLC, a business partially owned by Cline’s largest campaign donor, Paul Crampton Jr, was approved for a $500,000 award through that same Senator George C. Edwards Fund while Cline served as a voting member of the board overseeing the money. The fund’s 2024 report lists the award for renovating the Antietam Paper Building as approved, pending disbursement. Cline attended every 2024 Senator George C. Edwards Fund board meeting with posted minutes, including when Hager 5’s application was discussed.

One of Crampton’s companies also owns the apartment building where Cline lists his home, yet Cline’s 2025 financial disclosure reports no real property interest, including as a tenant.

At this point, maybe we need to stop expecting explanations from Jeff Cline and start demanding a serious, independent state investigation into his conduct. His campaign’s nonprofit contributions, his unexplained housing arrangement with his largest donor, and his involvement in public funding decisions benefiting campaign donors warrant investigators examining the records, following the money and determining whether laws were broken.